adjutant
Americannoun
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Military. a staff officer who assists the commanding officer in issuing orders.
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British Military. an executive officer.
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an assistant.
noun
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Abbreviation: adjt. adj. an officer who acts as administrative assistant to a superior officer
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short for adjutant bird
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of adjutant
1590–1600; < Latin adjūtant- (stem of adjūtāns, present participle of adjūtāre to help, assist), equivalent to ad- ad- + jū- (variant stem of juvāre to help) + -t- frequentative suffix + -ant- -ant
Explanation
A general's assistant is his adjutant. The word means someone who serves as a helper to a higher-ranking military officer. The root of adjutant, is the Latin juvare, "to help, support." It sounds a little like juvenile, doesn't it? So think of an adjutant as a young staff officer helping out an older commanding one. The word adjutant can also be used to describe a loyal deputy or follower. If you are the kind of kid who stays at the side of your favorite teacher and does whatever the teacher ask you to, you might be described as that teacher's adjutant.
Vocabulary lists containing adjutant
My Brother Sam is Dead
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The Killer Angels
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A Farewell To Arms
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Gen. Thomas Suelzer was appointed by Abbott to oversee the Texas National Guard and Texas State Guard as the agency’s adjutant general.
From Salon • Jan. 24, 2024
Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the adjutant general of Virginia, said in a statement.
From Washington Times • Mar. 21, 2023
Gen. Kenneth Hara, the adjutant general in Hawaii, tweeted about a balloon over Kauai a year ago.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 8, 2023
Gen. Matthew Beevers, who is on Baldwin’s executive team, will succeed him as a deputy adjutant general and “the governor will consider appointing an adjutant general.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 18, 2022
The adjutant stared at me through the half-opened door.
From "My Brother Sam is Dead" by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
